How to fail
by alegriavida
Summary: Jareth is left broken after Sarah leaves. She's moved on. Will he be able to? My very first Labyrinth fiction. Let me know what you think!


How does a man mend when he has been broken? I certainly don't know. I have locked myself away in my bed chamber like the teenage girl who caused me this pain. How many years has it been? And yet it feels like Sarah made her choice mere moments ago. "You have no power over me." Those cruel words ring in my mind every day. How could I have made such a mistake? How could I have fooled myself into thinking she was old enough to understand what I offered her? She was only a little girl; a little girl who beat the Goblin King. How many times have I agonized over the wish to do everything possible I can to make her come back, yet I also wish to cause her every pain and misery in the world. Instead, I do nothing. I know I could never harm her.

I conjure a crystal for the thousandth time to look in on the girl who has become a woman. She holds a tiny child on her hip as she searches through a rack of clothes at a human store. She found love and happiness. Good. And yet, I can /not/ be happy. I am angry. I am selfish. How dare she choose a mere human when she could have had the King of the Labyrinth? How dare she move on, whilst I stand still? I throw the crystal against the far wall where it shatters, adding to the broken pile I refuse to let the goblins clear away. It serves as a constant reminder of my failure.

Liam, my advisor and second in command, visits every day and tries to convince me to snap out of my painful reverie. "Your Majesty, please. Your kingdom needs you. There is talk from other kingdoms of a petition to remove you." I don't care. What power could I possibly hold over a kingdom if I don't even have power over a human girl? Liam is much better suited to the job, yet he refuses to accept this.

Today is just like every other day; I sit by the fireplace staring at nothing, broken and lost in my own mind. Until I notice the woman sitting quietly in the opposite chair, staring at me. "What are you doing here, Mother?" I haven't seen my mother for years. Yet the high queen looks as she always has, beautiful and young with long golden hair plaited in a loose braid. Her eyes search mine for a moment before she looks away with a frown.

"I shall ask you the same thing. What are you doing here, Jareth? You hide in your chambers day and night, wasting away over a human? Don't look so surprised that I know about her. Everyone knows about the girl who solved the Labyrinth…and broke your heart."

Of course everyone knows. Everyone in this kingdom and all the others are in love with gossip, and the story of the king broken by a young girl who bested him at his own game would of course be like the sweetest of fruits to a starving man. "It is of no matter to me. I have failed them all."

She shakes her head. "Jareth, /I/ have failed /you/. There is a lesson I should have fought you before now. You never learned how to fail…and recover. How to heal. Right now, you're going about it in entirely the wrong manner. Stand up. You're done sitting in this room by yourself. Come with me."

Even at my age, I know that the look on her face means there shall be no discussion. With a sigh, I stand and follow her…to the throne room. And it is not empty. Fae and goblin alike fill the room, and Liam stands at attention, waiting for me by the throne. So it is a court day. I follow the queen to the throne, and Liam gestures toward the seat that is rightfully mine though I have done naught lately to deserve it.

Once seated, proceedings begin and the first matter of business is brought before me. A goblin hobbles to the front of the room, a wide-eyed look upon his face. He has a request: all the chickens in the kingdom should be assigned birthdays, which then must be celebrated by every goblin, complete with cake and presents. The unexpected absurdity of the request hits me, and I sit in silence. I feel the gaze of the others in the room, especially Liam and my mother, as I stare at the goblin before me.

I can hold back no longer and my laughter bursts forward, shocking everyone, even me. The goblin stares back at me, unsure of whether this is a good omen or not. When I finally regain my breath, I address the goblin's request with a single word. "No."

He protests vehemently, begging that I reconsider, but my answer does not change, even as he grovels at my feet. I smile and kick the goblin, sending him soaring across the room as the other goblins cheer. Their king is back. It's true, more or less. It does take me several more months to fully recover, but this is the day the healing process begins. I've made a promise to myself. I will never be broken again.


End file.
